A couple weeks ago my '81 Interstate & I were in a head-on collision with a Civic. The Civic's insurance company has decided to total out my bike. Big surprise! LOL
Since my insurance won't cover a bike with a salvage title. My question now is is it going to be worth it, money wise, to sell it myself, in parts or as a whole, or should I just let the insurance scrap it.
Condition of the bike: Bent forks, broken radiator, bent handle bars, motor still runs, slightly cracked fairing (from previous slide out), everything else is in good condition
Just serviced the bike bearing to bearing, oils, belts, spline, calipers....
I have more pics if you guys are curious.
What do you guys think?

Personally, if it were me, I would part it out. There are so many posts here for parts for others restoring their older bikes that you might just make a tidy sum off of it. But, that is just my thought on it. Glad you are alright, that is the best out of all of it!

that's a shame that happened, but we're all glad to hear that your ok. the bike can be replaced, but your life cant. its also a shame that happened after you spent all that money on it having all that work done. your best bet IMO, is to part it out to try to recoup some of your money so you can go out and get yourself another g/w. you can sell everything from the radiator back including the radiator and the bent forks at a recycling yard.

I would think there is a lot of work trying to fix/repair what you have at the moment.

Even if you put a second hand front end on it there could be twisted frame issues which won't show up until you have it all back together.

What are the chances of picking up another bike the same model etc, and doing a motor transplant ? OR buy another one with the insurance payout - if it is enough to get another good bike in similar condition.

I'd fix it. I had the same thing happen to my 1100 replaced what needed to be fixed and rode it another year or two then sold it with Salvage title..most insurance companies will insure it. The insurance other guy's company paid me 2,750 for it and let me keep the bike and I sold it 1700..good deal for me. I had all the parts I needed to fix on hand..up and running within a few days.

I'd take the front end off and look carefully at the steering neck if it's straight rebuild..forks, triple tree, wheel easy to replace.all the rest..caliper, fender, lines, etc. reuse.

Last edited by RBGERSON on Sun Jun 07, 2015 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Can't get it insured with salvaged title .... looking at an 82 with "water in oil and bad solenoid" $500 clear title. then a part switching weekend. Ins has not made me an offer yet. any ideas what I'll get?

Thanks for the info didn't know why safe co said they'd wouldn't ins it. But I think I'm going with the 82 std with 38k on it. Going forward with best parts. Will sell leftover here but will be a while. thanks to ALL

Like I said I had an 81 and they gave me $2750 and let me keep the bike. When the adjuster came I had a list of the parts that had to be replaced and their retail cost..from Honda dealers web page she took my info and used it to "total" the bike..it was over $4,000 in replacement parts..majority fairing, bags, engine guards, valve covers and some other smaller stuff. If they don't offer at least that and keep the bike say no..they always offer more..if you refuse..court costs etc. go way over the blue book for these bikes. check NADA and Kelly for your bike year and model..$2110 but that's low look on craigslist in your area for more prices..

If rebuilding is not an option thanks to either the condition or your insurance company policies, and if you have the time and patience, you could part it out on eBay and make enough to buy a very nice new(er) bike. There are people that make a very nice living doing nothing but buying old bikes, taking them apart, and selling the pieces on eBay. It's sad that the old bikes are being parted out, but it helps keep the rest of the bikes of its type running.

i'll tell ya one thing, if it weren't for eBay, (and websites like this one), i wouldn't have been able to put my 83 aspy OR my 81 silverwing GL500i interstate back into the shape they were meant to be in. for me, eBay is a God send. they know me on a first name basis lol.

Half of my bike is from parts off ebay,,,,I have never had a problem with any seller on there....Not yet... I love it because you can find the smallest items that nobody would think of on there....Example,,, I needed a tray for the false tank entry, found it on ebay,, I needed the section on the rear fender, the plastic front section,, bam, ebay again,, a fork weight, handlebars, mis. bolts like caps for the rear of the engine at the crank and a new oil cap... Lot's of stuff....

Last edited by littlebeaver on Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.

littlebeaver wrote:Half of my bike is from parts off ebay,,,,I have never had a problem with any seller on there....Not yet... I love it because you can find the smallest items that nobody would think of on there....

aint that the truth lol, but its also good to know people that own motorcycle salvage yards .

Going after this 82 sdt thought on eng swap. Trany gears finel drive ect. Wont best parts what are the def between a 81I and 82s the seller said has watter in oil will get it this sat wonder if its watter orcoolant

the reason i was asking is that my fairing is cracked in 3 places on the same side going around the inside towards the vent and i cemented it back together but it looks horrible and was wondering if it was possible to cut that entire right side out and replace it with another inner right side. i see yours is also broken in the same place. unfortunately i couldn't use your fairing if you decided to sell it. i need one that's completely intact, but it was just a thought.

i saw that fairing on eBay yesterday, but if you zoom in up to 250 and look closely, you'll see that one also has a crack on the lower right corner. if im gonna spend that much on another fairing, it better not have ANY cracks in it anywhere.

don't get me wrong, i appreciate you finding it for me, but that's too much money for a fairing that has a crack in it. if that crack isn't not fixed soon enough will wind up traveling across the entire bottom of it. that's what happened to mine. i need to find one that's been wrecked or broken with that right side still intact that i can cut out and form fit over mine without really any noticeable difference.

heres another member that's doing the same thing, he's removing his fairing and leaving the trunk and saddlebags on his bike. you might want to read thru this, it will give you some insight on what you'll need to do to run your bike without your fairing..... viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27141